Labor Story

I know the part everyone wants to read about is how labor went. I don't blame you. I want to hear the labor story of every woman who walked the face of the earth. It's fascinating to me.
Monday morning Bubba and I woke up with a lovely cough and some serious congestion, so we went to the Emergency Room. The line was ridiculously long, so I decided to see if his doctor could squeeze him in later in the week. Anthony said, "Well, since we're already at the hospital, why don't you go up to labor and delivery and have them check you." I have a history of silent cervical dilation, so it's never a bad idea.

Landon and Anthony went to the mall. I went up to L&D. My midwife, Christine checked me and I was only 1-2 cm! Dr. Bass said I was 3 cm more three weeks ago! (Turns out my water bag was hanging out, so I felt like 1-2) I said, "Okay, I'm going home to do laundry." And Christine suggested I walk around for an hour first. So, I power walked in circles while the nurses and med students laughed at me. They were like, "You really want it to happen today, don't you? It's not gonna happen."

Christine checked me after an hour and I was a 5! I hadn't felt a single contraction, so I was feeling pretty excited. She said she has delivered thousands of babies and has never seen someone labor like that. I decided to keep walking around, and 15 minutes later I was a 7. At this point, I really did not want my water to break on the floor, so I decided to sit down.

Nikki and I were eating Reeces, reading Star magazines, and asking Anthony questions like, "Would you rather marry Oprah or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton?"

I wasn't making any progress just sitting there, so Christine decided to break my water. I wanted an intrathecal first, just to make sure I didn't feel any pain. It's kind of like an epidural, but it's a one time shot and wears off in 3 hours. So ofcourse, three hours later he's still not born, and I felt some pretty heavy contractions. Nikki timed them. 4 minutes on, 30 seconds off. That was pretty awesome. Within about a half hour I very suddenly felt the urge to push. I yelled, "I'm pushing!" And the nurse ran in. The intrathecal had worn off entirely, and I am not good at pushing. It was the most intense pain of my life. I thought about Landon and how much I love him; how he was worth every pain, and this baby would be too. I prayed. After almost an hour, when I thought I could not take it anymore, the angels entered in and Harper was born.

I was thrilled to hear him cry right away, and they placed his tiny little body right on my chest. He sobbed and sobbed and held onto me. He kept one eye open and looked around while clinging tightly to my chest. We stayed like that for over an hour, and it was bliss. I started to feed him and tears welled up in my eyes. I had this surge of love overcome me completely, as his crying subsided and I was able to comfort him. It was an amazing day, and just like Landon, he was totally worth it!

"There is no other closeness in human life like the closeness between a mother and her baby."

--Susan Cheever

Here

Harper David Matthews

was born at 8:54 p.m. on Monday, October 26, 2009.

He weighed 7 lbs, 11 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

Once again, I am in love.

Also, congratulations to my dear friend, Andrea who brought Jeremiah Eloy into the world on the exact same day.

Pumpkin Farm

a wiggly boy who just wanted to play

he was in pumpkin heaven, after all.

three of my favorite ladies, thanks for bringing your cute families!

it was a wonderful night.

To see our trip from last year click HERE. Crazy how Bubba has grown since then! Oh, and me too.

Spooky Cookie

I love holidays! Especially Halloween. I've had my front porch decorated since the beginning of September. Is that lame or what? I just love it though! The pumpkin mazes, haunted houses, fun decorations, and the best parts-- dressing up and getting candy!

So, the other night we did our part to add to the Halloween spirit and decorated spooky cookies with Nikki and Sheldon. Fact: October is National Cookie month. Weird, since we get plenty of candy. I'm not complaining; the more sugar, the better. ;)

*sorry, some of these are sideways

There's either a baby in there, or I've had way too much sugar. Or both.

Prayer

{bubba in the nicu}

I found out at my appointment today that I have not made any progress this week. Despite daily (sometimes hourly) contractions, I am still 3 cm. Amazing.

Once again, I am glad that baby has stayed in this long, and it is looking like he will make it to term. It's been kind of an emotional whirlwind wondering when he's going to come, and I'm starting to feel like I can finally relax. Although the end of pregnancy can be extremely uncomfortable, I'm so thrilled that the chances of him spending time in the NICU are slim.

I am grateful to have a Heavenly Father who loves us and listens to our prayers. Sometimes it takes a trial of sorts to bring us to our knees and remind us of where are blessings come from. I hope that even in times of good, I can remember to pray always. My greatest desire is to maintain a close relationship with my Father in Heaven; to have His spirit with me and recieve the guidance that we all need so much. I am humbled and grateful for all the blessings we have recieved from His hands. Through prayer I have been given peace.

{this oh-so-lovely picture of me demonstrates what a contraction feels like}

I'll be praying a lot during those.

Micke Grove Zoo

Bubba turned 18 months yesterday. I feel like the time has flown by so quickly, but at the same time I feel like I've been a mother forever. You kind of forget what life was like before kids. I was just looking at old photos, and it's so crazy how different things are now. I can honestly say though, the last 18 months have been the happiest of my life, the last 2 1/2 years, really. I think part of that is just learning to put others before yourself. When you become a spouse and then a parent, you realize what's really important. You learn to love and serve each other, and that's the best part of life.

I've been 3 cm dilated since at least Friday, so who knows when the next baby is coming. I really wanted to make sure we had a day for just Bubba before he gets here. So, we took Bubs to the zoo yesterday with Nikki and Sheldon. Bubba called almost every mammal a dog, including the monkeys. And every bird was a duck. He cracks me up.

{the adorable Nikki & Sheldon}
















{the *three* loves of my life}

And the award for creepiest animal goes to...















This baboon that was staring right at me. Freaky! And this bald bird. Seriously, these pictures don't even do the creepiness justice.

Did You See NieNie on Oprah?

I got married just before my 19th birthday. We had our first son weeks after our one year anniversary. I couldn't be happier with those choices. Some wonder why I chose to start a family at such a young age, and maybe why we chose to have another baby so soon {We're so excited}!

I was just fortunate enough to fall in love with a wonderful man, who I knew would love me, respect me, and take care of me. We have the same values and same goals in life. I also knew he would make an amazing dad.

I am so grateful that this is the path I chose. Motherhood is often taken for granted, even looked down upon in our society, but I know this is where my influence is most needed. Some people go through life not really knowing what thier purpose is. I know mine, and that is to nurture, to teach, and to protect my children, and to be a loving, supportive wife. It's not always easy, but amid the challenges are shining moments of joy and satisfaction. I have never been more fulfilled.

After hearing about NieNie last summer, I really cannot take my role as wife and mother for granted. She is the most inspiring mother I could ever think of. If you did not get the chance to see her on Oprah yesterday, go HERE to read a commentary. Then make sure you go HERE to watch a video of Nie's struggles at home since the fiery plane crash. If I need a pick me up and don't feel like cleaning my house or reading I Spy Animals for the bajillionth time, I just click into her archives and feel so uplifted and inspired to be my best self; to try a little harder and not take my family or my time here on Earth for granted.

Family BBQ

{me and my cute aunts. please, excuse my extreme plumpness}

I may or may not have been greeted, "Hey fat girl! You look like a pumpkin!"

Totally the look I was going for.

Sunday night, we went to my Aunt Cindy's and Uncle Greg's for a family BBQ. It was so fun to see everyone and play out back with Bubba by the lake. He and I fed ducks which as you may know, are one of his favorite animals. He was ecstatic!

The food was amazing! Uncle Greg is seriously the BBQ Master. He made beef burgers, salmon burgers, and my first ever Boca burger {he's a vegetarian}. Not even lying, it was the best burger I have ever had. I'm not just saying that because I'm pregnant and everything tastes better. It's true. Topped with mushrooms and sauteed bell peppers, it was simply perfection.


Eww. I'm drooling.


In other news, as of Friday I was still 1 cm and still 90% effaced. I have another appointment in 2 days so we'll have an update then. And in just 4 days, we are in the safe zone, so once again thank you for your prayers, without which Baby Boy #2 may be in the Nicu instead of safely in my belly. Although I'm really looking forward to the day when I have my body back.

Naps

Yesterday Bubba decided since Daddy was home from work early, life was way too exciting for him to need a nap. So, he stayed up to play and crashed for the night at 7:30 {much earlier than usual}.

Guess what time he woke up today?

3:30. That's right. Three freaking Thirty.

Guess what time he decided he was ready for nap?

8:30.

Just in time for me to start getting ready for my 10:00 doctor's appointment and not take a nap.

Update: Nikki came over and picked Bubba up that afternoon for several hours so I could sleep. I LOVE HER.